Book Review: The Heart Whisperer by Ella Griffin

On her thirty-third birthday, Claire Dillon decides that it's finally time to grow up. She will give herself twelve months to try to sort her life out. Her mother was thirty-three when she drowned. The accident happened on Claire's seventh birthday and deep down, Claire feels it was her fault. Her mum had everything to live for but Claire's life is a mess...
All her relationships have just fizzled out over the years. Her acting career is going nowhere and thirty-three in acting years, is somewhere between forty-five and extinct. Nothing in her life works. Her locks stick, her pipes howl, her computer has no letter 'p'. Her beloved car, Mossy, which used to belong to her mother, has one wiper and no reverse gear. If it weren't for the kindness of her oldest and her best friend, the gorgeous, charming and once-very-famous Ray Devine, she wouldn't even have a place to live. So she gives herself a year to turn her life around...

I very much enjoyed Ella Griffin's first book Postcards From the Heart so I was really pleased to receive her latest book, The Heart Whisperer.
The book follows Claire who has just turned thirty-three. She doesn't feel like she has much to celebrate, an out-of-work actress, no relationship, a clapped out car and living on the charity of her best friend. So Claire decides to turn her life around in the next 12 months. Her birthday is particularly poignant as Claire's mother drowned in a tragic accident on Claire's seventh birthday. Claire idolised her mother; a successful doctor with a marriage and two children, she had everything to live for.
Claire's brother Nick practically raised her when their mother died but now they barley speak plus Nick is having problems in his own marriage which is a little inconvenient as he has just landed a TV spot as a relationship counsellor.
Throughout all of this Claire relies on her best friend Ray Devine who used to be in a very famous band. Ray is living off the royalties nowadays and looking after Claire but maybe he is doing too much for her; he needs her to stand on her own too feet and this may require him pushing her away.
I really enjoyed The Heart Whisperer and Claire's character in particular. She brings a lot of humour to the book but also a lot of humility and poignant moments. Her relationship with Ray is really interesting and was one of my favourite parts of the book.
I really tried but I couldn't take to the character of Nick. You appreciate

by the end of the book just how much he did for Claire and the things he protected her from but there was something about him that didn't click for me.
 Marian Keyes has been quoted as saying that 'Ella Griffin can make you laugh and then cry in the turn of a page' and I think that is the perfect quote to describe this author. The Heart Whisperer is an entertaining read with many comical moments but it really pulls at the heartstrings too.
Ella Griffin is definitely an author to keep an eye on and I hope she has many more books to offer in the future.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Pages: 368

Publisher: Orion

Many thanks to the publishers who sent me a copy of this book to review, The Heart Whisperer is available now.

Book Review: Postcards from the Heart by Ella Griffin

Saffy has a dream job at a top Dublin ad agency. She's got her high-maintenance purple-boot-wearing mother at a safe distance. And she thinks her actor boyfriend Greg- the next Colin Farrell is going to propose.
Conor worships the beautiful Jess. But after seven years and twins, she still won't marry him. He spends his days teaching terrifying teenager and his nights writing the book he hopes will change everything- including her mind.
But happy endings are playing very hard to get...

Postcards from the Heart is one of my favourite books of 2011. Marian Keyes describes Ella Griffin as a 'fresh, funny voice' and I think she is spot in, I think Ella Griffin will be an author to watch out for in 2012!
The book revolves around Saffy and her relationship with Greg and then the relationship of Conor and Jess. Saffy would like nothing more than for her actor boyfriend Greg to propose but things don't go to plan and Saffy's life is turned upside down.
Conor and Jess are settled with their twins but Connor has his sights set on more. He would love for Jess to be his wife but she is having none of it. Writing by night and teaching by day, Conor is chasing his dream of being a published author. However, his dreams are not shared by all of those around him and he is running out of the effort needed to convince them.
I think that Postcards from the Heart has a great balance of humour and poignancy. I had several laugh out loud moments but also felt that the characters had enough depth for me to want to invest my emotions in them.
Of the two female characters, I liked Saffy a lot more than Jess. I felt that Jess was quite selfish and at times I was questioning why Conor thought she was so wonderful. I think this just added to my enjoyment of the book though as predictable, likable characters can become a little boring.
I think that Ella Griffin has written a really lovely book that explores different types of relationships including those between friends also those between parents and their children. There was a lot going on in the book but I felt that the author tied the sub-plots together very well. The different story lines meant that the books had a really good pace; I always wanted to read on to the next chapter in order to find out what was going to happen next.
I am very excited by Ella Griffin's writing. I hope that she has many more books to offer in the future as I know I would definitely  buy them.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4.5/5

Many thanks to Ella for sending me a copy of her book  to review, Postcards from the Heart is published by Orion and is available now.